Sandy Berger claims that after reading secret intel docs on the Clinton administration’s handling of terrorist plots to disrupt millennium celebrations, he inadvertently packed them in his briefcase. His lawyer admitted, however, that Berger had intentionally smuggled out handwritten notes he’d taken about the documents; in fact, the investigation was triggered when National Archives employees reported seeing Berger stuffing notes into his jacket and pants. Nevertheless, USAT says no decision has been made on whether to charge him. Even more ambiguous is the legality of removing the notes. “He knew it was a technical violation, and he admits that it was an error in judgment,” Berger’s lawyer told the WSJ. But USAT writes, in an almost contradictory pair of sentences, “Berger was allowed to take handwritten notes. He knew that taking his own notes out of the secure reading room violated archives procedures.”

The LAT goes inside with the drive-by killing of an Israeli judge in Tel Aviv by an assailant who shot him at point-blank range and made a get-away on a motorcycle. While al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took responsibility for the attack, Israeli police were skeptical. “There is no suspicion that this was an act of terror,” the Interior Minister said. In fact, the judge lived near a suspected crime lord and some TV commentators speculated that the shooting might have been a gangland hit.

In the battle for an original way to frame the presidential campaign horserace, the WP fronts a story on the dueling databases maintained by the Democratic and Republican parties. Known as DataMart and Voter Vault, respectively, these troves contain approximately 166 million profiles each—or one for every registered voter. The article includes some great trivia (people without call waiting, for example, are more likely to respond favorably to a political fundraising call). But most interesting is that Republicans, who refused to comment, are said to have an edge in databases because they started building theirs several years earlier. It was only when the party’s 72-Hour Task Force won decisive victories using block-by-block data in several recent elections that “spooked” Dems started playing catch-up.